Positive steps needed to address forced, early marriages
For the purposes of this article, she would be referred to as Sherifa Mumuni, a 21-year-old mother of two. She was just about 17 years old when she gave birth to her first baby boy who is now three years with the second delivered almost two years ago.
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Forced marriages
She had to leave JHS Two at age 17 to be the wife of a man who her aged parents “customarily owed” (betrothal). Life was not easy for her when she went to her husband’s house.
To worsen the situation for her, Sherifa’s husband died about a year ago, leaving the two children in her care. She now depends on her parents largely to be able to feed her two children.
During our interview, she wept as she recounted the difficulties she went through to be able to feed her two children.
Sherifa’s story is one out of the many challenges encountered by some young girls who have been forced into marriages and have to endure the consequences of the situation.
A forced marriage is explained as one in which one or both of the parties enter without their consent or against their will, and an early marriage involves the marital union of children below 18 years. These are among various social issues pertaining in some parts of the country.
Statistics
According to a report in the Daily Graphic of Thursday, April 3, 2014, a survey conducted by the Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF) Ghana, showed that the country had one of the highest child marriage occurrence rates in the world.
The report added that one out of every four girls would be married before her 18th birthday.
Additionally, the report, which quoted the 2008 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey, indicated that, about 25 per cent of women aged between 20 and 24 years were married or were in a union before age 18.
A number of social interventions and educational campaigns have been put in place as part of efforts to curb this practice but despite some successes made over the years, following those interventions, the practice is still high in some communities, particularly in the rural areas.
Advocate
Speaking in an interview with the Daily Graphic, Ms Paulina Tangoba Abayage, a gender advocate, said the country needed a collective and concerted effort to deal with issues of forced and early marriages which had persisted in parts of the country over the years.
She said when a girl-child was supported and educated, it would help to delay the time they would have to enter into marriage.
“The higher we educate the girl-child, the longer it takes for her to go into marriage and that also helps her to develop herself emotionally, physically, psychologically and economically”, Ms Abayage explained.
She said although the three regions in the north had been topping the chart of forced and early marriages, with the help of educational campaigns, the figure had reduced drastically in recent times.
She, however, said to be able to reduce the practice to the minimum, all stakeholders, such as community, religious and traditional leaders, teachers and parents, as well as the children themselves, must be educated on the consequences of the practice.
Customs
Ms Abayage said some cultural and traditional antecedents in the country had also encouraged people to offer the girl-child for early marriage.
She explained that cultural practices such as betrothing of girls into marriage must be discouraged by all well-meaning Ghanaians particularly, chiefs and queenmothers.
She added that “Betrothing of a girl-child was common practice in the past and people used that as a way of appreciation”.
Ms Abayage, who has been a gender advocate for more than 30 years, however, explained that although betrothal used to be one of the major reasons behind early and forced marriages, poverty and ignorance had now become the major factors compelling some parents to force their girl-child into early marriages.
Other factors
“If parents are sensitised to know that you will be better off if you educate your girl-child than giving their hands in marriages, they wouldn’t force the girl-child into marriages”, she said.
She added that irresponsible parenting also contributed to early and forced marriages.
Ms Abayage, however, apportioned part of the blame to some of the victims (girls), saying “We can’t blame parents totally for the early marriage….sometimes they (girls) themselves run to the men for reasons best known to them”.
Laws
Touching on laws regarding forced and early marriages, Ms Abayage said it was a criminal act to have copulation with a girl-child below 16 years, stressing, “If you have sex with a 16-year-old girl, it is a crime in our laws”.
She, however, said enforcement of the laws was not effective and called for strict enforcement of the laws to scare people from engaging in the act.
Ms Abayage said, “The legal age of marriage in Ghana is 18 years”, noting “marrying a girl below 18 years of age is a crime.”.
Caution
Ms Abayage, who won the 2002 National Best Teacher award in the Technical and Vocational Skills category, implored traditional authorities, especially queenmothers to discourage forced and early marriages in their communities.
She also admonished young girls to have role models so that they would help them to aspire to higher heights in life.
Concerning parents, Ms Abayage urged them to be interested in the education of the girl-child, saying “It is better to invest in your children’s education than to invest in cars and buildings”.